It's Been Too Long
by GeekyMetalhead
Summary: It's been a month since Tai and the others defeated Diaboromon and life has gone back to normal. But that's got Tai depressed. The Digidestined have seen less and less of each other and seem to be drifting apart. Tai wishes things could be like they used to be. Will an encounter with his childhood bestfriend Sora Takenouchi after the "email incident" change everything for Tai?


Hey there. :3

So this is my first published story on this shit. I had been reading FanFiction on this site for years and had always created my own little stories, but never published them anywhere. Now I've just decided I'd like to give my ideas a go and see what other people think of them.

I picked Taiora for this because as many of you were, I loved Taiora as a kid. Digimon was my favourite anime/show and Tai and Sora were just so suited to each other. But I'm not taking a dig at Sorato, I actually didn't mind that pairing either. I know Sorato had more signs in the original Japanese series, but like many of us, we grew up with the English dub. So because of that, this is based on the English dub and just after the events of Digimon The Movie english dub.

I hope you enjoy. :D

**It's Been Too Long**

It had been about a month since the attack of Diaboromon. A fight seen by the world on the world wide web. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon bravely taking on a Digimon that seemed like he'd never be beaten until, Tai and Matt, along with the help of the kids of the internet, unlocked a new hidden power in the two mega level Digimon; DNA Digivolution. And thus Omnimon was born. With the two Digidestined on each shoulder of the newly digivolved Digimon, they defeated the evil Digimon virus and saved the world from more than anyone else could ever know. Even the other Digidestined who were unavailable at the time had no idea what was going on.

But time had moved on and everything was back to normal, which was boring to the leader of the Digidestined. Don't misunderstand, he liked the peace and was happy that all the people he cared about were safe, humans and Digimon alike, but he missed their adventures in the Digital World. They had been through so much together and that brought them all close together. But lately everyone has been busy with their own thing. He could see they had all drifted and that made him even more depressed.

A sigh escaped Tai's lips as he lay flat on the floor of his room. He had been like that for an hour and had hardly moved one bit. Reminiscing about all the adventures they had together. "So much for the good old days, I guess ..." he muttered. And with that he slowly dragged his tired body off the floor and grabbed his soccer ball by the door. No matter what the problem was or no matter what he felt, he always turned to playing soccer in the soccer field not far from his house. He basically grew up on this field. Him and Sora Takenouchi, of course. The biggest tomboy he knew. She was better at soccer than most of the other guys on his team. She was always underestimated for being a female soccer player and often surprised a lot of guys as to how good she was, but he never once underestimated her. He knew how good she was. He was even worried that she may be better than him, although his ego would never admit it, neither to Sora ... or himself.

Before he knew it he was at the soccer field, completely zoned out during his walk from his house. "I think too much" he thought to himself, shook his head and placed his sweat band over his head. Partially to soak up the sweat but in actual fact, it was to keep his wild hair out of his face long enough to see where the ball was. He thought of all the times everyone had joked about his haircut, mainly Matt. "That smug idiot. Not everyone can be as cool as Matt Ishida" he mumbled to himself, letting a small smirk escape his lips. That was his last thought before he flicked the ball up on to his knee, bouncing it from left to right and knocking it up on to his head, practicing his soccer skills. And then his mind suddenly went blank.

Hours had passed and the evening had set in. The sun was setting and the sky was filled with a nice, orange glow. Autumn was starting to set in. "Okay, 5 more minutes" he thought as the sweat dropped from his forehead, his breathing streched from the continious hours of fixing up his soccer skills, practicing his free kicks, penalties, volleys and overall fitness. He was just about finished and wanted to take a shot at the crossbar challenge. He was spinning the ball in his hands and placed it down in front of him. He was a good 45 yards from the goal posts. He took a small stride and struck the ball high into the air in the hope it would dip and land on the crossbar. No good. Too much power in it. He let out a groan as the ball sailed over the bar. "Shit!"

He flopped to the ground. "Well, that didn't go according to plan ... nothing ever does these days." He placed both hands behind his head and closed his eyes omentarily. His eyes jolted open as he heard an all too familiar voice.

"That wasn't very good, mister soccer star."

Leaning over him was the brunette haired Digidestined of Love. His childhood best friend and soccer partner in crime. A grin appeared on the young girl's face.

"SORA?" Tai sat up immediatley. He was shocked to see her and to be honest a little startled at how she just appeared out of no where. It scared the living hell out of him.

"It's not very polite to sneak up on people, you know?" he said, taking a deep breathe.

"I'm sorry but I thought it would be more fun this way. And you know what? It was." She let out a small giggle. Teasing each other was always their thing.

"Ha-ha-ha. You're so funny." he said in his sarcastic tone, his face frowning slightly. Although after a few seconds, he let out a grin. "What are you doing her-no. WHEN did you get here?"

"I just happened to be passing by. Unluckily for you, I got to see your lame shot." she teased.

"Shut it. I've been practicing all day. I'm just tired." he groaned.

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Okay then. You try and make the shot then."

"Fine." she grinned. "And if I make the shot, what will you do for me?"

"Hmmmm..." he thought on it for a second. "I'll buy you a soda. How about that?"

"Deal. How about a bar of chocolate too?"

"UGH YO-NO. GET YOUR OWN DAMN FOOD!" he howled.

"Cheapskate."

"Speak for yourself." his eyes narrowed in on her, giving her a cold stare. "You're gonna be rusty. When's the last time you even played? I don't think you'll do it." he smirked.

Sora smirked back at him. "We'll see about that." And with that, she lightly jogged over to get the ball. She looked nice today. Her blue jeans, pink jumper. And her hairclip that he had gotten her for her birthday. The hairclip that caused so much fuss. And the hairclip that lead to that accidental email. That thanks to Kari, had been mistakenly sent. But to be honest, he wasn't too upset about that. In fact, some part of him was glad the email got sent. Although he was still unsure which part he was more happy about. Clearing up the misunderstanding of the hairclip ... or what was said at the end of the email. Sora hadn't said anything about the email. She had just apologised to him and told him she now realises the hairclip was just a gift. Nothing more. He had only seen her a few times since that email. Always in the company of the other Digidestined though. It hadn't been just the two of them together in a long time.

Sora poked his bushy hair, knocking Tai out of his own little world.

"Huh?" he looked up.

"Earth to Tai. How's space?" she smiled.

"Quite nice, actually. The aliens say hi. And they also think you won't make this shot." he poked his tongue out at her.

"Hilarious." she rolled her eyes at his attempt at humour.

Tai lifted himself off the ground and took a few steps back as Sora placed the ball in the exact place he had attempted to hit the crossbar from. In all honesty, he expected her to hit it. She was naturally good at soccer. She took two steps back and then hit the ball with a strong strike, lifting it into the air and watching as it dipped ... just under the crossbar.

"Ohhhhhh. Tough luck, Sora. I guess you're just as lame as me, huh?" Tai let out a laugh, something he hadn't done much of lately.

"I guess I am a little rusty, huh?"

"It wasn't the worst shot you've ever hit." he replied, smirking once more.

"I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult" she said as her eyes locked on him, a hint of coldness in them.

"Just think of it as both." he grinned. "But since I'm such a nice guy, I'll buy you that soda anyway."

"Nice guy? Don't flatter yourself, Kamiya." She looked up at the orange sky. It was becoming darker and darker and closer to nightfall. Sora herself didn't realise it was this late. She had gotten so distracted talking to Tai that time just seemed to fly by. It always did with him. He was always fun to be around. She missed this.

Tai was the one to jog after the ball and jog back with it under his arm. "Right, time to get some drinks. I'm so damn thirsty."

"Okay." she smiled at him and started to walk beside him as they both made their way to a local shop for some drinks.

He glanced over at her. "What were you doing around here anyway?"

"Oh, I just finished up early in my mum's shop and ended up going for a walk. I love autumn and the cool evenings."

"Yeah, I love autumn too. I hate the warmer months. It's great for soccer but ... I literally just melt and get grumpy when I'm too warm."

"You don't say." Sora snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He pouted.

Sora seemed hesitant to ask the question she wanted to ask. "So ... what have you been up to these last few weeks?"

"Nothing at all, really. I've been bored out of my mind." His facial expression turned sour.

"Have you been talking to any of the rest of us lately?" she asked.

"Just Matt and Izzy. Both last week. I haven't had the chance to talk to anyone else. I've hardly even seen Kari as she's been out so much."

"Well she is growing up. That's what girls do." she smiled. "I was talking to Mimi yesterday. Over the phone, actually. She's on yet another holiday."

"WHAT? ANOTHER ONE?" Tai sighed. "That girl amazes me."

Sora chuckled. "I know, right?" she raised her arm and gently scratched her hair. "Joe's still taking extra classes so nobody has seen him in a while. I talked to Matt last week too. T.K's apparently been out a lot too. Probably with Kari, huh?" she grinned.

"They're kids, stop trying to tease me by using my sister. What about Izzy?" he asked.

"No, I haven't talked to him in a while come to think of it." her face implied she had to think a little harder to remember when she actually did talk to him.

"I see." Tai mumbled. "I hate how we all hardly see each other anymore..."

Sora's facial expression changed to that of surprise. She had never heard Tai be so sincere about his feelings. He was always the type who would lock up his feelings and pretend like nothing was wrong. That's just the type of guy he was.

Sora smiled, but it had a hint of sadness in it. "Yeah, I know. I miss it too, Tai."

"We're a team, right?" he sighed. "I guess I just thought we'd be like we were forever. I never really stopped to think that no matter what, things change. And so do people. But I guess that's all part of growing up, I guess ..."

"Oh, Tai." she smiled. "For such an idiot, you're pretty smart sometimes."

"Huh?" Tai let out a confused sound, with a look on his face to match.

"We'll aways be the Digidestined. And we'll always be friends. Everybody is just busy doing their own thing now. But we'll never be far from each other. We all have a bond and nothing will ever break it. Digidestined for life, remember?" she smiled.

It took a few seconds for Sora's words to sink in, but when they did, it made him feel a lot better. She was right. Of course she was right. "Digidestined for life, huh?" He couldn't help but smile at that sentence. "You're right, Sora."

"Of course I am." she said in a tone that implied she couldn't be anything but right.

"You're a modest one, huh?" he said, with a funny look on his face.

She just responded by closing her eyes and giving him a cheeky smile.

Tai smiled back at her.

She was the same as she always was. She never changed one bit. She was still the same as the day they met when they were little kids. Now that they were teenagers, nothing had changed with her. It was refreshing to him. He felt a lot better now. Talking to Sora ... and seeing her, was exactly what he needed today. She was always there for him, never failing to try and cheer him up. "That girl." he thought to himself.

They had reached a local shop and Tai suddenly threw the soccer ball to her. "CATCH!" he shouted quickly.

"HU-?" Sora's quick reflexes enabled her to catch the ball before it bounced right off her head. "IDIOT!" she declared at the top of her lungs.

Tai glanced at her with a smirk. "An idiot who is buying you a soda. Remember that." He walked into the shop while Sora stood outside, bouncing the ball like a basketball in front of her feet. She could feel her cheeks warming up, a smile appearing on her lips that she couldn't seem to get rid of. And unknown to her, Tai had the exact same problem inside the shop. He had waited a minute for whatever this was to pass, then came out of the shop with two soda's and chocolate bar. It was nearly completely dark out as the two of them walked, each sipping from their can of soda. They had walked in silence for about 5 minutes. But it wasn't an awkward silence. Quite the opposite. It was a calm quiet. A nice quiet. He broke the silence by holding half his bar of chocolate up to her.

"Here." he randomly said. "This is thanks for today."

She paused for a second, then exhaled a breathe that could only be described as her thinking of him being an idiot. "You don't need to thank me." She took the piece of chocolate from him and took a small bite out of it. "This chocolate is great."

"Good." he smiled. He took out his phone from his pocket and looked at the time. 8.45pm. "Wow, when did it get so late?" he asked, looking to her for some sort of answer.

She was kind of surprised herself. "I have no idea. But I better be getting home now or my mum will freak."

"Yeah, okay. I'll walk you there. It's on route to my house anyway."

"Oh, how lucky am I? I have goggle boy to protect me from all the bad guys and evil Digimon." she joked.

"HEY! The same goggle boy saved your ass more than once, so yeah, bad guys and evil Digimon better damn well beware." he grinned.

She laughed. He was just someone who always made her laugh. There was always something about Tai that just made you happy, that made you laugh. It was his unique personality. He was different than any other person she had ever met.

He turned his head and looked at her for a moment as they were walking. This look turned into a stare. She had been looking to the sky. The stars were starting to shine their brightest and a full moon was clear, lighting up the sky. She turned her head to look back to him and he quickly turned his head in comical fashion. He hadn't realised he was staring at her. He quickly shook his head.

"Huh? You okay, Tai?" she asked, rather puzzled.

"Huh? O-O-Oh yeah. I'm just tired from my practise today." he let out some nervous laughter. Sora shrugged it off as Tai being Tai.

"So what are you planning to do with your last week of summer vacation?" she asked.

"Hmmmm. Good question. OH. There's this awesome new sci-fi movie I wanna see that's out tomorrow. It's got aliens and monsters and it seems awesome. How about you? What are you gonna do?"

"Well, I actually don't have to work tomorrow so I don't have anything to do." she sighed.

Tai stopped still for a moment. His heart rate had increased. He could feel sweat forming on his forehead. He suddenly became very nervous and had no idea why. Without warning, he just blurted something out. "Do you wanna go see that movie tomorrow?" he asked, dread now consuming him.

"Just me and you...?" she asked curiously.

"Well y-yeah. Everybody else is busy with their own things. And you like the same movies that I do. So why not?" he said in a nervous tone.

"You mean like a ... date?" she blushed.

His face went completely red. "W-W-W-ELL UM I DUNNO I ERM-IT'S JUST TWO FRIENDS ... who like the same movies and are really good friends, hanging out and spending the day ... together..." his voice slowly faded out, unable to make eye contact with her and scratching the back of his head with one arm, the soccer ball and soda in the other.

Before they knew it, they were standing outside her building. Their surroundings already darkened by the night sky, street lights shining though the streets. He then lowered his head and returned his eyeline to hers. She was standing closer to him than he remembered, her two arms behind her back and around her soda can. "I'd love to, Tai." she smiled at him. She grabbed his free arm and pulled it down from the back of his head, as she handed him the can of soda, their hands touching for a brief moment. "Text me what time to meet you at tomorrow. I'll be waiting. Goodnight, Tai. She smiled as she ran off back home.

"G-G-oodnight, Sora." he mumbled. He stood there in shock, still unsure of what had just happened. Sora was no longer in sight and that's when it had just sunk in. "Do I have a ... date with ... Sora?" he muttered to himself. Then realisation sunk in. "HUH? I HAVE A DATE WITH SORA?" his face dropped. The more and more he thought about it ... the more incredibly happy he felt. His cheeks were bright red. His stomach was in knots. Bubbling excitement was stirring in him. "A date with Sora..." he quietly mumbled. "How about that..." it was impossible for him not to have a big, stupid smile all over his face. And he would have that stupid smile until tomorrow. He looked at the two soda cans in his hand and smiled even more. He held them up against his body with his right arm, his left arm still holding the soccer ball and turned to walk home, which then turned into a dash, then into full on sprinting. "Hehe." he childishly giggled. Tomorrow couldn't come quick enough for him now.

Sora had just made it home and closed her front door, falling back against it and leaning on it. A huge smile on her face. "Took you long enough. Stupid Tai." she giggled as she rushed to her wardrobe. She had to pick out her outfit for tomorrow, of course.

Well I hope you liked my first chapter. I was originally just gonna do a oneshot but I had so many ideas that I couldn't fit them all into just one story. So I'm gonna do a few more chapters and hopefully they'll be somewhat good.

Thanks for reading. :)


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